7 Symptoms to Figure out if you have to Buy a CRM Software

Change the tools and processes with which you manage your business are a difficult decision, even more so if these changes require an investment. It is also true, however, that if you are thinking about a change, it’s because you noticed the problems that would be solved.

The use of technology for customer management is not new. However, with the advent of new technologies, new communication channels and the increased expectations with respect to the functionality of the software, many companies are pushing for a change or upgrade. In addition, the increased use of CRM on Cloud and the collapse of prices of technologies have democratized the CRM so that even now small businesses are adopting this solution to increase and retain their customer base.

If you are reading this article, you are probably wondering whether to buy a CRM software is the right move for your business. What impact will it have on your sales, marketing and services? How soon you will begin to see a return on this investment? While you are doing all these evaluations, we recommend taking a look at this list of symptoms which indicate that your company needs a CRM.

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1) Low Efficiency / Productivity

Processes like spreadsheets and paper files are considerable waste of time: the manual data entry is not only a long process, but also risky, since you risk losing important information. There are tools designed to accomplish these tasks: CRM with these manual processes are repetitive and automated; not only that, but the information is centralized in a single shared interface between the users, eliminating the traditional chains of emails between colleagues.

This, not only goes to improve the efficiency of sellers, but also can increase the success, up to a 41% increase of the revenue for the seller.

2) Lack of collaboration between departments

Sometimes, the different departments of a company are so absorbed in their daily tasks to lose sight of the impact that their work has on the others. Communication becomes fragmented and your customers or potential find themselves bouncing from one operator to another, neither of which, in the absence of an overview of the situation, is therefore able to provide a comprehensive answer.

With a CRM, every member of your company can see the location and status of each client or potential and know how to handle your needs. This communication can be achieved with CRM features such as dashboard and sharing of files.

Even more so, a management Software cloud allows each user to have access to information of all the departments that make up the company, not only marketing and sales, but also purchases, stock and administration. Try to imagine the potential of truly integrated software, thanks to which you have the FULL picture of your company’s activities.

3) You have no control over the activity of your vendors

Sometimes, sellers avoid taking responsibility for a client who is lost on the road with the excuse that “it was not their task.” Or, maybe, you lose a sales opportunity because no one took the initiative and contacted the prospective client.

A CRM acts as the centralized database that provides precise data on every interaction that occurs with a client or potential. This will tell you who, where and how he failed to follow a customer. The aim is certainly not to dispense blame or to create a hostile work environment, but to provide a clear framework for understanding where there is room for improvement.

4) Analysis of partial data and low-quality

Probably, you think you know your customers and you’re doing everything in your power to help them. But you may be missing some crucial information; Moreover, the less data you have access to, the less information you have.

CRM will help you better understand the preferences of your customers thanks to a system of reporting and data analysis integrated. Using these tools, you will see the habits of your customers: from knowing their spending habits to know the demographic information, from their digital behaviors to their specific preferences, such as their favorite communication channels.

Not only that, but with a Software Management in the cloud – whose functions include sales, purchasing and warehouse, customer and supplier accounting and e-commerce – your sales department can see the buying habits of your customers. You then have the overview of all operations that contribute to sales : one central repository of all contacts, the historian of every action done, the list of tasks and appointments to make, tracking of sales opportunities, quotes and orders. It ‘just that the value of a CRM system that was born within the ERP: displaying all created management documents (quotes, orders, delivery notes, invoices, receipts).

5) Low customer satisfaction

A dissatisfied customer is an easy prey for your competitors: if you’ve noticed a low satisfaction among your clients, a high amount of complaints, or little responsiveness to the satisfaction questionnaires, perhaps you should consider a solution.

With CRM, you can appreciation in a targeted manner to the management of your clients’ satisfaction. For example, some CRM allow you to reach via mobile and on social channels those customers who prefer this type of communication to the classic email and phone call. Not only that, but according to a study the use of a CRM for Mobile leads to an advantage in productivity of 14.6%, while the social channels carry a 11.8% advantage.

6) Sales Opportunity Missed

If you are manually tracing your sales opportunities, you probably did not set in motion a clear process to feed them and then qualify their interest: it is therefore possible that you’re doing good opportunities to escape. A CRM (Especially one integrated with a Software Marketing Automation) can use the automation rules to notify sellers when it came time for a follow-up. Not only that, but thanks to the stored information and communications records, you may return your process of nurturing from where you left off, by adding value to a relationship that had already started to build.

For example, you can plan very specific marketing initiatives directly from the CRM. You will, in fact, create lists of Marketing defining the criteria to generate the lists and planning appropriate action.

7) Rapid Business Growth

Even small companies can benefit from the advantages of a CRM, especially when pointing to growth. As is often the case when it comes to software, this results in the classic question, “how to choose the right platform for my company?”

It ‘a valid concern, since it depends on the number of your employees and the volume of customers that you are managing. Many CRM is flexible and can grow with your company.

In choosing the right CRM for your needs, finally, we remind you these 5 features of which you should not do without:

The 5 features to look for in a CRM

We report on the results of a research conducted by nearly 12,000 respondents. Here are the 5 key features that CRM software should have:

Compatibility with mobile devices: For 60.8% of the respondents, the accessibility of smartphones and tablets is the first concern.

Dashboard: According to 57.2% of respondents has a reporting dashboard that gives the big picture of operational performance is an important factor.

Delivery of services on Cloud: 54.2% prefer a CRM managed via the Internet.

Data analysis and report: In a world that increasingly revolves around the data, it is no wonder if this is a feature considered important by 52.9% of respondents.

Email and Marketing Automation: This is a preference that has seen an exponential growth among the buyers of a CRM (an increase of 207% from 2014), the possibility of having available tools marketing automation is important for 51.8% of respondents.

As long as you consider the pros and cons of implementing CRM software, it is important to consider the dangers of sales manuals, and marketing processes. Working with a CRM you can optimize communication between departments, improve the experience of your customers buying, and increase productivity and gain. Not only that, but if that CRM was founded by management software for Cloud, the potential of the instrument are amplified, going to involve every department in the improvement process.

If a simple CRM certainly gives you a competitive advantage, will have an integrated system that allows you to reinvent the way you work, with a more and more automated and thus optimized.

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